Sports and sporting events are extremely popular around the world. Athletes and other participants in sporting events are always trying to improve their skills, thus improving their performance in the sport. Many of the most popular sports include games that require throwing a ball. These would include such sports as baseball and football. Further, these sports and others require an athlete to throw a ball powerfully and accurately. Athletes are continually trying to improve their ability to throw a ball powerfully and accurately. A need therefore exists for devices and methods to assist athletes in developing their ability to properly throw a ball.
The ability to throw a ball powerfully and accurately is extremely important to performance and to avoid injury to the athlete. As an athlete increases the torque on his arm before the throw, the increasing forces must be managed to prevent injury. While a high torque will result in a powerful throw, an athlete must have his arm in the proper position to maximize power and accuracy and avoid injury. Most of the power in an athlete's throw comes not from the arm, but from the torso and upper legs. The torso and upper legs contribute to providing the forces necessary to deliver a powerful and accurate throw.
It is important to appreciate that the power with which an athlete throws a ball can lead to injury if the arm is not in the proper position for throwing a ball. Throwing a ball requires use of the arm muscles in combination with the muscles of the torso and legs. It is important that the arm is in the proper position for throwing so that the larger, more powerful muscles of the torso and legs do not injure the arm by exerting force against the arm when it is in an improper position. The bones and musculature system of the arm needs to be protected while at the same time allowing the athlete to maximize the power and accuracy of throwing. Thus, there exists a need for a device that can train athletes to keep the arm in proper position for throwing a ball.